Under the Radar, and Other Drabbles
by AniDragon aka Riona-chan
Summary: A set of 50 100 to 500 word drabbles, for a contest on a forum I'm on. Fourth Drabble up: Nox. Julia Heartily always loved the night...
1. Under the Radar

Irvine Kinneas was never very good at "going under the radar", so to say.

Most would think that this would be an essential skill for a sniper, and he'd be the first to boast at his skills in stealth. Still, that was work.

This was love.

Irvine was a total flirt; he'd admit it. He loved women, and only asked for the same in return. Most women would flirt back playfully, but none were ever interested in any sort of commitment. He liked it that way, since the life of a mercenary wasn't one that allowed much opportunity for serious romance.

At least, he felt that way until he met Selphie.

Selphie Tilmitt: A SeeD only a few months younger than he. She was brought up for the strict life of a mercenary, having spent most of her life in Garden. Despite her petite, fragile appearance, she was a soldier, and a good one at that. She would never run from a battle, and could keep up easily with more experienced soldiers.

She was an even better soldier than himself, which is probably why she had already graduated from Garden, while he remained a student. He could never handle the pressure of killing, and had a track record for running away. Yes, Selphie was much better than him.

She was too good for him, but he couldn't help but feel drawn to her. Even as children they had been close, and with her, he felt that he could handle a full relationship, even if it meant that he'd have to stop flirting with other girls.

The problem was that he didn't know how to approach the situation.

Many men would opt to "go under the radar", but he was always direct with his thoughts. So why did he feel so scared to tell Selphie how he felt? It was like the moment of the kill; He couldn't handle to pressure.

_This is why I'm not a SeeD._

He'd been walking with her for some time now. She was going on about the Garden Festival, oblivious to his thoughts. She had such a cute smile, and she always smiled when she talked about the Festival. He watched her intently, until she became aware of the seriousness of his stare and stuttered her words together. Her eyes silently asked him what was on his mind, and he felt his resolve buckling.

_Just be direct, Kinneas!_ He shouted mentally.

"Do you have a date for the Festival, yet?" He asked her.

"Ah…" She thought about it for a moment, "I've been so busy preparing it, I haven't had time to even think about it…"

He offered his arm to her, hoping to show her the confident lady's man he claimed to be, "Well, I couldn't let a lovely lady such as yourself go alone, now, could I?"

She blushed deeply at the implication—so cute!—but then smiled, "You're quite the charmer, Irvine."

He grinned, "Only to the pretty girls."

She grinned back. Mission successful.


	2. Agape

Squall was speechless.

Not many would notice, since he wasn't the most talkative man in the first place. Still, most of the time, he simply chose to be silent. This time, he just didn't know what to say.

His mouth hung open as he stared at the man in front of him. He… He had to be joking. There was no way…

And yet it explained so much…

"You're serious about this?" He finally spoke.

He almost felt pity for Laguna. The older man looked so nervous… Well, Squall couldn't blame him. If he had had to make a revelation like that…

"My father. You're serious," He stated, barely coming to terms with the information.

"I… I didn't know until I saw you," Laguna admitted, "I knew that Raine had a son, but I didn't know where…" He was looking down at the ground uncomfortably, "Ellone knew the whole time, but I just didn't know where to _find_ you. And when I did… I just didn't know what to say…"

Squall sat down on a nearby bench—they were in a quiet part of Esthar, where Laguna had asked to meet him earlier that day—took a deep breathe, and exhaled it slowly. He knew that Laguna had been hiding something from him, but he never would have guessed…

As long as he could remember, he'd been an orphan. He'd been told that his mother was dead, and that no one knew where his father was. He'd always imagined that his father either didn't know about him, or just didn't want the responsibility.

It was comforting, to know that Laguna had made a real effort to find him. He wasn't an abandoned child anymore. He felt he could get used to the idea of having a father who cared about him. It was just so strange and foreign right now…

"I wanted to be there for you," Laguna continued, oblivious to Squall's thoughts, "Ellone was like a daughter to me, but I'd always wondered how I'd fair with my own kid… Heh… I guess I didn't fair too well. I wouldn't have even met you if Ellone hadn't stepped in…"

_Is he going to start rambling?_ Squall questioned, and was answered when Laguna continued:

"I was always thinking: You know, when I find him, I'll be able to do all those father-son things I see other families do. I could take him fishing, play ball, teach him Triple Triad… I could help with his love life—"

"Oi!" Squall cut in, standing up, "Are you going to shut up any time soon?"

Now it was Laguna's turn to stare agape. He looked almost hurt, which made Squall realize how harsh a tone he'd had.

He thought for a moment before speaking again, "My mother must have been pretty quiet. I definitely didn't take it from _your_ side."

Relief flooded Laguna's face—his father's face—as he let out a laugh. Well, it was never too late to start bonding with your family, after all.


	3. Self

Maybe Squall had been misinformed, but weren't dates supposed to be… fun? Or at least interesting?

So far, his first date with Rinoa had been neither.

_Am I doing something wrong?_ He thought to himself.

He'd asked Irvine, Zell, and even Seifer what a standard 'first date' could consist of. Some of the suggestions (especially Irvine's) were… a little much. Still, some of the feedback from his comrades had been helpful, and he eventually settled on taking her out for dinner, followed by a walk along Balamb's beach. He knew which parts of the beach to stick to if they wanted to avoid monsters, so it should have turned out to be a peaceful strole.

So far, it had remained peaceful, which was good. But… Rinoa looked bored.

And that _wasn't_ good.

Maybe he should hold her hand? People on dates held hands, usually, didn't they? But it seemed so tacky… Was there even a point to holding hands?

He could talk to her, but what would they talk about? What were girls interested in these days? Now that he thought about it, what was _he_ interested in these days?

He actually couldn't remember _ever_ being interested in much that wasn't related to Garden, SeeD, and battle tactics. He highly doubted that any of that would be an appropriate topic to discuss on a supposed 'romantic walk'.

_Okay, think, Squall_, he thought, _There has to be _something_ we can talk about._

"So…" He tried, "How about those clouds?"

Well, there was a reason he wasn't usually the one to start conversations.

To his horror, Rinoa started laughing. It was definitely _not_ a good sign when your date laughed at you.

"Sorry," He mumbled, "I'm boring you, aren't I?"

"No, no! Not at all!" Rinoa quickly exclaimed, "It's just that… Well… You keep things to yourself so much, and I was trying to figure out what you were thinking about… I just didn't expect a comment on the weather from you."

"Ah," Was all that Squall could think to reply.

"So, the clouds, ne?"

"Well, what did _you_ think I was thinking about?"

Rinoa got a pensive look on her face, "Well, I was hoping maybe something along the lines of 'Wow, that dress looks really cute on her', or 'I should hold her hand'…"

"I did think of all that," Squall admitted, "I just didn't see the need to say it out loud."

She giggled and clutched his hand, "You need to stop keeping things like that to yourself. You know, most girls like to hear it when her boyfriend thinks she's pretty or cute."

"Hn," He pondered, "I'll work on that, then."

"Don't try too hard," Rinoa teased, "You might explode."

Without another word, they continued their walk along the beach. They held hands, now, and admired the way the setting sun reflected on the clouds.

"By the way," Squall said softly, turning to Rinoa, "You look pretty in that dress."

"Thanks," She replied, giving his hand a squeeze.


	4. Nox

Julia Heartilly loved the night.

As a child, she always loved staying up late to watch the stars. She'd stay outside and gaze at them for hours until her parents ordered her to bed.

As she grew up, it was no longer the stars that she watched at night, but the people. At 16, she would sneak out of the house and into the tavern at Galbadia Inn to watch the performers. She'd sit and listen to the lady on the piano until the tavern closed and she'd have to leave and go back home.

One night, on her way back home, she encountered Mai Tinaly, the young woman who'd been playing the piano that night. Ms. Tinaly had noticed Julia watching, and offered to teach her to play.

One thing led to another, and a few years later _she_ was the one behind the piano.

There was a young man, Laguna Loire, who'd been going to the tavern since before she'd first walked in. During her first performance, she noticed his eyes light up as her recognized her as the young girl who usually sat in front. She had caught him staring at her a few times, though he'd never spoken to her. She only knew his name from overhearing his friends talking to him.

Laguna was a Galbadian soldier, like most of the men who came to watch her play. He was different than the others, though. His eyes were bright like a child's, and one would never be able to guess that he was fighting in a war.

On the night he first waved to her, she knew she needed to talk to him.

His expression when she approached him was priceless. When he watched her, hadn't he had any idea that she had been watching him, too?

He was the first that she told that she was interested in singing. It was fitting, since he was the inspiration for her first song, _Eyes on Me_. She took comfort in his encouragement, and looked forward to singing the song to him.

As luck would have it, though, that night was the last time she saw Laguna. She released her song, and never knew if he ever heard it.

Had the war taken him? Or had him simply lost his interest in her? She would never know, and it would have been foolish to dwell on him. She had to live her life, after all.

She married, started a family. As she sung her beautiful daughter to sleep, she looked out the window and remembered… Even though she would likely never see Laguna Loire again, they'd always have that one night; a night of conversation, and a thousand nights before that of glances.

"I kind of liked it your way," She sang softly, Rinoa cradled in her arms, "How you shyly placed your eyes on me… And did you ever know that I had mine on you?"

Her voice carried on through the night, a lullaby to Galbadia.


End file.
